Welcome to the Court
by goldenstarshine
Summary: Sequel to Only You. Kagome has been chosen to be Sesshoumaru's mate, but his court doesn't approve. In order to prove her worth she has to undergo test both mental and physical. Will her own powers destroy her and Sesshoumaru, or will she come out on top?
1. Chapter 1

The lands resounded with the joyful cries of its citizens. Finally, their lord had taken a mate. Nobody had seen her, and nobody knew who she was, but whispers flowed like water throughout the populace that his lady was a powerful warrior, that she was allied with several lords, including Koga of the wolf clans and their lord's half-brother, the hanyou Inuyasha. Each day the whispers grew larger, the rumors spreading while their lord and lady remained locked away.  
One day, as the court gathered for their usual lunch, they noticed a scent that had never been there before. Heads moving, eyes roving, the nobles searched for the elusive scent of vanilla and jasmine. It was not until the clink of china on wood sounded that they found the culprit. Sitting at the head of the table, dark blue and silver kimono pooled around her, was a human. The nobles bristled, their eyes glittering angrily. Who would dare let a lowly human in their inner sanctum?  
Growls split the air as the demon nobles advanced towards their prey, but they were dumbfounded when all the human did was smile, and with nothing more than a slight bow, disappeared. Shocked silence filled the air before rumbles of outrage spilled from their lips. Disregarding their now cold lunch, the nobles headed for the throne room, nervous servants skittering out of their way. All around them hung the scent of the human, proving that she had passed this way, and their anticipation at cornering the woman grew, knowing that the throne room was the only place that the corridor lead to.

Quickly ending up at the ornate doors that opened into the throne room, the nobles ignored the shivering herald, pushing open the carved teak doors to pool into the spacious room. It was decorated in the colors of the west, indigo and silver mixed with the red and purples their lord had claimed as his own. Pushing and shoving themselves forwards, the indignant nobles were brought up short by the frosty aura that stood on the dias at the front of the room. Molten gold eyes stared at them icily, and his sculpted face showed no emotions whatsoever. At his side stood the human, her body slightly behind his as she stood quietly, watching them with amused curiosity.

As one, the nobles knelt, offering homage to their great lord. With their faces parallel to the ground, they couldn't see him move, but they could feel him sit, settling into the throne that adorned the dias. With mental gasps, they all stiffened as they felt their lord reach out for the human, his tail wrapping around her waist possessively to pull her closer. More than one noble had to fight the urge to rise in shock, and it was with the greatest effort that they remained motionless. Their lord demanded the utmost control of his own body and emotions, and the court had picked up that same trait, soon becoming known throughout all the four lands as the court of stone. Nobody could discern the court's true feelings, and this had evoked rumors of mystery and intrigue, and had increased the vagueness that surrounded the west. Their lord used that to his advantage, ruthlessly cutting down his opponents, both on and off the battlefield. The nobles took pride in knowing that they were the ones who had helped create the idea of infallibility that defined the west.

But now the nobles could only wonder in confusion at what their lord had planned with this new human pet of his. They weren't allowed to wonder long as their lord's cool voice drifted over their head.

"Rise." With a collected shuffle of cloth, the court rose, staring silently at the lord that commanded their loyalty and attention. "Members of the court, I present my mate, Kagome."

**And so, I continue **_**Only You**_**. I can't wait to see how this turns out! Thanks for everyone who encouraged me to write this sequel, I hope that you will enjoy this continuation! As always, reviews are wonderful and welcome.**


	2. In Which Kagome Speaks

An indignant silence rose from the nobles before they snapped, a clamor of angry voices spilling to crash against the dais upon which the taiyoukai stood. He merely watched them, as unfazed as ever while Kagome tried to keep herself from blushing in embarrassment and anger. She kept waiting for Sesshoumaru to silence the crowd, and she wasn't waiting long. After letting his nobles vent their opinions he raised a hand, inwardly smirking as their voices were cut off immediately.

"You seem to disagree with my choice in a mate," he began. It took all of Kagome's discipline to keep from snorting in amusement. She never knew that the inuyoukai had such a talent in understatements. "However, you have no control over who I chose. I am lord here, not you." Sesshoumaru's voice dropped, taking on a icy tone. "You seem to forget that, and it is my duty to remind it off you."

Nobody in the main hall moved, frozen by the implicit threat in their lord's voice. It wasn't until one brave soul stepped forward that the nobles remembered how to breath. The figure, a slight male dressed in flowing robes of oranges and red that complimented his deep purple hair. "My lord, please, excuse our behavior. We were...shocked at your choice. You have always sported less than favorable opinions regarding humans."

Kagome stepped closer to Sesshoumaru, wordlessly reminding him that they had planned for some opposition. To her relief, he stayed calm, his aura reaching out to wrap around her in a comforting embrace. He gazed down at the speaker, golden eyes a little warmer than last time. "You speak truth, but the situation has changed. Kagome is a powerful warrior, and she will prove to be an asset to the Western Lands." He lifted a lip slightly, the light in the room glinting off his pearly canine in a subtle warning. "This is not up for discussion."

Another noble stepped forward, perhaps emboldened by the fact that the last noble to speak up hadn't been beheaded for his insolence. "My lord, we must object. The laws state that any person chosen as the mate of the ruler of our lands must first pass tests to test to prove his or her worth. That doesn't take into account the meeting before the other lords and their mates, that must take place in order to receive their blessings. We can hardly overlook such a blatant disregard of tradition."

Sesshoumaru's vision was filled with hazy red, and it was only Kagome's calming presence behind him that kept him from destroying the annoying pest of a courtier in front of him with his whip. Just as he was about to growl out a reply to the smug ferret youkai, his miko stepped forward, resting a hand briefly on his tail before facing the crowd of youkai.

"You all make judgement far too quickly. Sesshoumaru is the lord of these lands, and he would no more forget what he owes it than you would try and think for yourselves." Her gaze swept across the furious nobles, grinning inwardly. Her eyes coming back to settle on the two speakers, she allowed her expression to harden, her voice taking on the same icy tone that Sesshoumaru had sported earlier. "He is also your lord, which means you do not try to order him about. You are lucky he didn't kill you outright at that." Taking a step forward, Kagome flared her miko powers around her, watching as the youkai closest to her squeaked in surprise and leaped back out of the way of her purifying powers. "I, too, will not forget what I owe to these lands. I will take these test to prove myself, and I promise you that I will succeed. I will meet with the other lords and their mates, and I will prove to them also that I deserve their blessings." Her gaze was as fiery as her aura as she swore her deeds to the court. "And I promise you, that one day I will stand here, not as a possible mate, but as the Lady of the Western Lands, mate to Sesshoumaru, Ruler and Lord of the Western Lands, weilder of Tenseiga and Toukijin, the most powerful taiyoukai known. This I swear on my life and my honor, that I will succeed or die trying." And so saying, Kagome, miko protector of the Shikon Jewel left, leaving in her trail a group of disbelieving and awe struck courtiers and one very smug inuyoukai.

**I do apologize for the shortness of the chapter, but it felt like a good place to stop, I think the next couple of chapters are going to start getting longer, especially since I've set up the foundations, Anyways, as always, reviews and comments are most welcome. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

_'Life is one confusing little bitch,'_ Kagome thought to herself. _'One second you know what's going to happen and then next you're flopping around like a dead fish.'_ Shaking her head at the mental images, she sat down, pulling her legs up to wrap her arms around them, letting her chin rest on top of her knees. She had retreated to the gardens just outside her room, hoping that they would fill her with peace. So far, they'd only let her think of fish.

Kagome sighed. How had she gotten here? Well-centipede-free the hanyou-fall in love with said hanyou-meet new people-meet bad people-kill bad people-go on an epic quest-get heart broken-kill more bad people…It made sense when she listed it out, but then again…Kagome growled angrily, scowling at the innocent daisy in front of her. Why couldn't life be simple for once!

At any other time, Kagome would have realized that she was being foolish and laughed it off, but right now all she could think about was the mess she just got herself in. It wasn't that she didn't like Sesshoumaru, though like might be too light a word for how he made her feel when he…She blushed and dropped the thought, glad there was no one around to see her. It wasn't that she didn't like the taiyoukai but more that she hadn't really thought this whole situation through.

It was one thing to say, 'Sure, I'll be your mate. Let's have sex. Now.' It was another thing to say, "Oh, hi. I'm Sesshoumaru's mate and I'm a human. What now, demons?' Honestly, what had she been thinking? Kagome groaned slightly and rubbed her face. Obviously, she had been spending too much time with Inuyasha; her thinking skills were non-existent.

She'd been fine earlier, when it was just her and Sesshoumaru. And she'd be fine when they first entered the court room. But when the court began to speak she'd realized that she might have acted a little rashly. Kagome grinned. Of course, that didn't stop her from putting the demons in their place, but still… She dropped her head onto her knees and called herself seven types of idiot.

Sesshoumaru stood just outside the garden, watching Kagome as she sat there, apparently doing nothing. She had hidden her aura again, he thought grumpily, and he couldn't tell how she was feeling.

To say that he was proud of her would be an understatement. It was always fun to see someone else berate some of the more uppity demons. Kagome's willingness to stand up to his nobles and support him was a trait highly valued in a mate. For all that she was human, and completely unaware of most youkai etiquette and culture, she was picking up the idea of it rather quickly.

He pushed his hair out of his face and looked at her again. She had slumped further into her seat until he was almost afraid that she would turn into a little ball of human flesh. He cocked his head slightly, curious as to what she was doing. Was this some human form of meditation? Maybe it was a way for her to stretch. He had never seen Rin do such a thing but she was young. Doubtless this was something only older humans did after training.

Watching further, his confusion only grew as Kagome began to utter…something. Her kimono muffled the sounds until all he heard were weird, growly syllables in a vague, sentence like form. How very..odd humans were.

Sesshoumaru shrugged and turned to head inside when a shout stopped him. "Sesshoumaru!" The taiyoukai turned around to see Kagome struggling to her feet, her kimono twisted around her legs. He raised an eyebrow in silent amusement. Gone was the composed woman from the throne room; in her place stood a nervous young lady, awkwardly twisting the hem of her sleeves in her hands.

"Yes?" Sesshoumaru asked pointedly.

Kagome blushed, and Sesshoumaru was struck once again at the differences in her behavior. "Yeah…sorry," she said, "I.." she paused and looked at the ground, shifting slightly.

Sesshoumaru sighed and began to walk towards her. "Mumbling will get you nowhere." He placed two fingers under Kagome's chin and lifted it gently. "What is it that bothers you?"

Kagome met his eyes, still shifting. "It's just…I didn't think this through, you know? I mean, it's not that I don't want to be with you," she held up her hands as Sesshoumaru started to growl, "but that I never thought about what making your mate will do to you."

Sesshoumaru stopped growling and froze, eyes going curiously flat. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well," Kagome said," you never seem to get on with Inuyasha, and you never seem to talk about your dad either. And from what Inuyasha's told me, and from what I've seen, hanyous aren't accepted here. So then why do you want me as your mate?" Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru, her expression serious. "Won't you lose face in front of all the other youkai for mating with a human? Wouldn't your power base be better off with," Kagome grimaced slightly, "a youkai mate?"

Sesshoumaru was silent. So silent that Kagome began to worry that he had slipped into a coma. "Hey, Sesshoumaru, you in there?" She reached up to poke his forehead and eeped as a clawed hand shot up to wrap around her wrist. "Oh, hey, you're still alive then." Kagome laughed nervously, and pulled gently at her wrist; it didn't budge. "Um, Sesshoumaru?"

The taiyoukai didn't move for another moment and then he suddenly blinked and looked down at her, glancing at her wrist briefly and then away. "You doubt this Sesshoumaru's decision?" His hand tightened slightly.

Kagome made a face and tugged harder. "That hurts." Sesshoumaru said nothing but let go, turning away, his entire body stiff with tension. Kagome waited, uncertain how to continue. "Sesshoumaru, I don't doubt you, I just…" She sighed. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you, ok?" Kagome stalked over to stand in front of the taiyoukai. "I'd prefer to stay with you, don't you understand that? I don't like the idea of you being with someone else. You. Are. Mine." She stood on tip toe, pulling on Sesshoumaru's haori to bring his face closer to hers. "I'm not walking out on you, do you hear me? I'm willing to stay here, by your side." She slid her palms to rest on Sesshoumaru's cheeks, cradling his face. "I just want to know if it's worth it for you."

There was a tense moment and then Sesshoumaru chuckled. It was short and deep and utterly masculine, Kagome thought dazedly_. 'And sexy,'_ her mind added, _'he should laugh more often.' _

"I have introduced you before the members of my court. That should answer your question." He bent his head until his forehead touched Kagome's. "I have staked my claim. My honor demands that it be fulfilled. You may be human and, at times, completely irrational, but you are my mate." His lips twitched in what might have been a smile. "As such, you are worthy. Self doubts will help no one."

Kagome stared up at him, mouth agape. '_Did he just say what I think he said?'_ She shook her head and smiled up at him happily. "You are so sweet." She laughed when Sesshoumaru pulled back to glare at her haughtily.

"I am not," his mouth twisted in distaste, "sweet." Kagome just kept smiling and reached out to twine her fingers with his.

"Yes, you are. But it's ok, your secret's safe with me." She stepped towards the garden doors, pulling gently at their connected hands. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go get some lunch."

Sesshoumaru said nothing but followed behind her, and Kagome's smile only brightened as she felt his fingers tighten around hers.


End file.
